A principios de este a\u00f1o, el ej\u00e9rcito de EE. UU. envi\u00f3 cuatro prototipos de l\u00e1ser de 50 kilovatios montados en Stryker al Medio Oriente para que los soldados los probaran contra amenazas a\u00e9reas. La respuesta inicial est\u00e1 llegando y no es abrumadoramente positiva, seg\u00fan el jefe de adquisiciones del Ej\u00e9rcito, Doug Bush. “Lo que estamos encontrando es d\u00f3nde est\u00e1n los desaf\u00edos con la energ\u00eda dirigida a diferentes niveles de potencia”, dijo Bush el mi\u00e9rcoles a los miembros del subcomit\u00e9 de Asignaciones A\u00e9reas del Senado. \u201cEse nivel de potencia [ 50 kilovatios] est\u00e1 resultando dif\u00edcil de incorporar a un veh\u00edculo que tiene que moverse constantemente: la disipaci\u00f3n de calor, la cantidad de componentes electr\u00f3nicos, el tipo de desgaste de un veh\u00edculo en un entorno t\u00e1ctico versus un sitio fijo.\u201d<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 Earlier this year the US Army sent four\u00a0Stryker-mounted 50-kilowatt laser prototypes to the Middle East for soldiers to test out against aerial threats. Initial feedback is rolling in and it\u2019s not overwhelmingly positive, according to Army acquisition head Doug Bush.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re finding is where the challenges are with directed energy at different power levels,\u201d Bush told members of the Senate Appropriations airland subcommittee on Wednesday. \u201cThat [50-kilowatt]\u00a0power level is proving challenging to incorporate into a vehicle that has to move around constantly \u2014 the heat dissipation, the amount of electronics, kind of the wear and tear of a vehicle in a tactical environment versus a fixed site.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dubbed the\u00a0Directed Energy Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD<\/a>), the service tasked Kord Technologies with integrating a 50-kilowatt class RTX laser onto a Stryker to down class one to three aerial drones and incoming rockets, artillery and mortars. In total, four prototypes were produced, and Breaking Defense\u00a0first reported\u00a0<\/a>that all four were sent to the US Central Command (CENTCOM) region in February.<\/p>\n Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus said at the time that the goal was to experiment in a live environment complete with weather challenges and dust storms that can alter light particles and degrade beam quality.<\/p>\n \u201cYou may have a 50-kilowatt laser, [but] at 10 kilometers can you put at least four kilowatts in a centimeter square because \u2026 that\u2019s what you need to burn through a quarter inch steel plate?\u201d the three-star general asked. \u201cBut that\u2019s really hard to get \u2026 from a big beam to get the small portion of it on the exact spot to be able to burn at that high intensity and any kind of dust particle or that starts to disrupt that.\u201d<\/p>\n Fast forward to today and soldiers are delivering some of that feedback, and Bush said results from the\u00a0lab environment and test ranges is very different from the tactical environment.<\/p>\n \u201c[Soldiers] will tell you everything and they\u2019re not worried about your feelings,\u201d Bush told senators.<\/p>\n While their initial input is not stellar for those Stryker-based prototypes, other high-energy lasers are proving to be\u00a0more useful. In late-April, Military.com\u00a0first reported<\/a>\u00a0that the service had also sent a\u00a020-kilowatt Palletized High Energy Laser (P-HEL), overseas.<\/p>\n